# Emphasis vs Session

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Session at none against Emphasis's 6. Session also leads on iOS requirement (13.2 vs 17.0). Emphasis's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Emphasis sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 per month. Session asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Emphasis against 4.7 for Session. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.1K and 937 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 84% of Emphasis's written reviews are positive against 77% of Session's.

Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, Session every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Emphasis | Session |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.1K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emphasis-flow-and-focus-timer/id733300214/reviews) | [4.7 (937 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/session-activity-timer/id1493474157/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.1K** | 937 |
| Positive reviews | **83.9% of reviews** | 76.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 73 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.2** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Aleksandr Fiodorov](https://appshunter.io/developer/571378481) | [Glasshouse Studio, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1493474156) |

## What reviewers say

### Emphasis

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/emphasis-flow-and-focus-timer/id733300214)

This app helps users achieve deep work by providing customizable focus intervals and ambient soundscapes. It tracks your focus progress and offers personalized statistics to help you reclaim your time from distractions.

**Highlights:** Customizable focus intervals, Ambient background sounds, Focus-O-Meter for distraction tracking, Personalized progress statistics, Cloud sync across devices, Highly customizable sessions

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Emphasis Premium Subscription | $3.49 | per month |
| Emphasis Premium Subscription | $4.99 | per month |
| Premium Feature (Yearly Promo) | $12.99 | per year |
| Emphasis Premium Subscription | $29.99 | per year |
| Lifetime premium | $29.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime premium | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Minimalistic and simple design
- 👍 Customizable timer settings
- 💡 Helpful for productivity and focus
- 🚀 Sleek and intuitive interface
- 👍 Visually appealing countdown timer

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Subscription model required for full features
- 🐛 Sync and login issues
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes after updates
- 🔋 Battery drain issues
- 🐛 Unreliable notifications and alerts

**Reported bugs**

- Timer not working correctly after breaks
- Task lists not saving properly
- App crashing on launch for some users
- Sync issues causing data loss

**Requested features**

- Ability to track individual tasks and time spent
- Landscape mode support
- Apple Watch app integration
- More color theme options
- Improved statistics and progress tracking


### Session

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/session-activity-timer/id1493474157)

Track your progress towards mastering skills by logging dedicated practice time. Manually log sessions or use the automatic timer to record your efforts. Start making measurable progress on your goals today.

**Highlights:** Create custom activities, Manual session logging, Automatic timer, Track progress towards goals, Skill mastery tracking

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Aesthetically pleasing
- ⏱️ Helpful for time management
- 💻 Simple and easy to use
- 🧠 Motivating for productivity

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes when trying to edit activities
- 🔍 Lack of customization options (e.g. color, icon, order)
- 🗑️ No ability to delete activities
- ⏱️ Timer issues (stops unexpectedly, doesn't continue in background)

**Reported bugs**

- Timer inconsistencies when exiting the app
- Inability to add time manually (only minutes, not hours)
- App crashes when trying to add a session manually

**Requested features**

- Add delete and rename session functions
- Implement activity editing (color, icon, name, description)
- Provide activity reordering capability
- Include activity time tracking by day/week/month/year
- Add Pomodoro timer functionality


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Emphasis free?

Emphasis is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Session free?

Session is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Emphasis or Session?

Emphasis and Session are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.1K and 937 ratings respectively.

### Do Emphasis or Session have ads?

Neither Emphasis nor Session shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Emphasis or Session?

Emphasis ships an update fortnightly, and Session every 4 months. Most recently, Emphasis was updated on October 6, 2026 and Session on October 3, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*